Jonathan Hogg believes his experience as a professional footballer has prepared him well to take up a leadership role in the Huddersfield Town squad.

The combative midfielder has been Town's go-to when club captain Tommy Smith has not been on the field this term and, with the promotion-winning right back suffering a tear in his hamstring against Arsenal, it looks as though Hogg will continue as stand-in skipper in the near future.

The 30-year-old began his senior career at Aston Villa in 2009 and has gone on to make more than 250 league appearances over the following eight years, earning promotion to the Premier League with the Terriers in 2017.

And Hogg believes his experience and maturity allows him to be a leader in the Town squad, which is the sixth youngest in the top flight.

The Town star told the Terrier: "Obviously when you first break into a first team and you're a young lad it takes a bit of time to settle down because you've got a lot of players older than you.

"The older you get, the more experienced you get - that's what's helped me.

"The experience of being in the game for a long time compared to some of them that are coming through now allows me to take this role to a new level.

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"I think you need one of those players. Every team needs someone like that to keep everyone on their toes and make sure they're doing their jobs right.

"Obviously you've got your head coach on the sideline, but I think you need someone on the pitch who is vocal, dishes out orders and makes sure people are at it."

The defensive midfielder admits to being one of the louder players on the pitch, but has learned to moderate his calls to get the best out of his team mates.

He said: "I'd definitely say there's more than one leader - I'm just the one who shouts more than everyone else!

"You need to look after yourself in the Premier League, if you're not doing your job then you soon get found out.

"You need people pushing you in the right direction, so that's why I shout at everyone!

"Some people take it on board, but for others it doesn't work the same. You have to know your players.

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"Some players you can have a go at and dig them out for doing something wrong because they'll react to it, but some people you'll have a go at and they'll react the wrong way.

"I found out this year that some people can take it better than others, so you've just got to watch what you're saying, so you make sure you get the most out of everyone on the pitch."

Hogg has been in good form this season and has only missed a handful of matches, three of which came as a result of his suspension after being shown a red card in the clash with relegation rivals Cardiff City.

And the former Watford man is enjoying his football this season, having been given a deeper role in the Terriers' 3-5-2 system compared to last year's basic 4-2-3-1 shape.

He added: "I had a similar role when I was at Watford; we changed formation to a 3-5-2 and one of those No6s dropped really deep to get on the ball and try and start the plays. So it's not something new to me really, but I'm enjoying my role at the minute.

"Obviously I've been playing a bit of a deeper role and I think that suits me more and it gives Aaron [Mooy] and Philip [Billing] a bit more freedom to get forward.